Second Skin

by Kristina T. Saccone

“You’re too old for that bear suit,” Papa growls. But 10-year-old Matheson feels a squall rolling in. Sure enough, Papa starts knocking them back like a sleet storm. The bear curls on the couch, nesting under a blanket. His heart slows to dormancy, waiting till the ice melts in Papa’s last whiskey. When it calms, the suit slides off, and Matheson emerges, a boy who is old enough to survive the long winter.

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Kristina T. Saccone writes flash fiction and creative nonfiction. Her work has appeared in 365 Tomorrows, The Bangor Literary Journal, Emerge Literary Journal, and Unearthed. Find her on Twitter, online, or haunting small independent bookstores in the Washington, DC area.